My nagging wife

[jfheath]

I've never really considered the BMW before. That single sided swing arm and shaft drive concerns me - and I've sat at the side of the road with a friend who's final drive collapsed on him. Other issues with suspension breaking also happened to a couple of friends.
But then I've had other friends who have taken their GS to Buenos Aries, ridden down to the souther tip of America and then ridden it up to the arctic circle, and brought it home again. No such issues - but he was one that 2 years earlier had a broken suspension unit on the same bike.

But I haven't heard of any recent such issues. Nevertheless I hadn't bothered looking elsewhere. But @Team2010's and @Mellow's pictures have only just made me start wondering.....'That looks nice. Would I like a new bike.' So I was nowhere near the stage of going to a showroom to sit on one. Just repsonding to a comment that both of them had made.

What will we all do if you get a Beemer and start spending your time learning the intricacies of that bike?

Well - that is another concern. What about servicing? I was very impressed with the way that BMW handled that massive recall where those owners that were affected but were on tour were greeted at ferry terminals and their bike swapped out with a replacement. All of the BMWs in the country were taken from showrooms to keep owners on the road while they collected all of the 'dangerous' models.

Another incident where an owner was stuck at a hotel, in Europe. Called BMW and they had a fully kitted out service van out to him within a couple of hours. Had the top end off his right cylinder and retrieved a sock ! (The owner had been servicing it, plugged the inlet port and forgotten to take it out.) The amazing thing was that this was about the 4th day into a tour. No charge, he had bought a service agreement of some sort.

And the can-bus. Not sure about how I would add on my satnav and intercom. There has to be a way.
If I get a new bike, I would probably not service it myself. (Yeah, right). Just buy a service agreement and leave it to the experts. Could I trust them ?? But I'm not getting any younger, and it is getting to be a prolonged effort to work on the bike these days. I do a bit at a time.

Each time I've bought a new bike I have looked elsewhere to see what there is, and decided that there was nothing better than what I had. I did look again a couple of years ago - and no one but BMW were making 'proper' sports tourers. Honda were claiming the Goldwing and the VFR were on offer. Then they brought out the new Goldwing with an ST1300 like nose. I only have two arms and legs. I wasn't going to part with them to buy a Goldwing. The garage and the ramp isn't long enough anyway. Yamaha's response to the Honda Weave issue seemed to be to make it crystal clear that panniers and top box should not be fitted on the FJR1300 at the same time. A touring bike without top box and panniers ? There's novel.

But that BMW does look nice .....

 

[Bulitt]

Congratulations, that is the perfect color! I’ve had several RT’s over the years. Loved them all!

 

[Mellow]

And the can-bus. Not sure about how I would add on my satnav and intercom. There has to be a way.

I just tapped into the aux plug for my GPS and radar detector, I use a sena so not sure what you mean by intercom.

 

[dduelin]

I just tapped into the aux plug for my GPS and radar detector, I use a sena so not sure what you mean by intercom.

My 2007 RT which is a contemporary of the ST1300 has a standard auxiliary plug for a GPS power supply. Canbus allows use of switched & fused power distribution systems like Fuzeblocks or Centech AP models which is not really different than what we were used to on the Honda STs. I run heated clothing off the battery. I used to think canbus was more complicated to live with until I bought a bike with it.

 

[jfheath]

Thanks @dduelin - I read something once about canbus and how each thing connected to it needed a ' decoder'. I assumed it behaved a bit like a network card in a computer or the DCC chips in model trains. I wondered if it might interfere with the signals that are sent along with the power. But if you have been doing it and it works - that is that concern answered. Brilliant.

@Mellow - Intercom ? I use an Autocom fully wired system for communication rider to pillion, rider to phone, satnav instructions and two-way biker to biker radio. It is connected to the 12v power supply and turns on with the ignition. As are other devices like cameras and the satnav.

 

[SMSW]

Well - that is another concern. What about servicing?

But that BMW does look nice .....

You missed my point, which was not clearly stated. Were you to buy a BMW and start studying its mechanical and electrical intricacies, might we lose you to a BMW Forum? It would be a big loss to this community.

Servicing? We have a pretty good BMW dealership in this town and one that is so-so. I would guess the same is encountered the world over - some great, some not so great. Since you get what you pay for, I'd suggest not trying to save every last penny and buying from a dealer with a good reputation for service (this is different than buying a used bike). I have to shake my head in wonder at the folks who travel miles to save a few bucks and buy from a far away dealer then complain when their local dealer prioritizes loyal customers for service.

 

[okckeith]

That is one beautiful bike. I think the more you ride it the more you will enjoy it.

 

[jfheath]

You missed my point, which was not clearly stated. Were you to buy a BMW and start studying its mechanical and electrical intricacies, might we lose you to a BMW Forum? It would be a big loss to this community.

Thank you - that's a nice thing to say. I'm not going anywhere though. Just thinking out loud.

There will come a time when I stop riding - probably sooner than I care to think about. There will come a time before that when I stop servicing my own bike. It's working out / guessing how many riding years I have got and when I stop finding it fun to go into the garage. There's no one around here any more that knows anything about the ST1300, but there is an excellent BMW showroom and workshop about 20 minutes away - Allan Jefferies. So the picture was a nudge towards the BMW and started me thinking again.

But I won't be looking to join a new forum to replace this. I like passing on information / teaching and while I can contribute, while my memory is still functioning, and while I can still pass on the few snippets that I have, I reckon I'll continue to do so. Anyway, there are too many people of here that its good to share with.

So no - just thinking out loud. The BMW was the only realistic contender for an ST1300 replacement, and I thought I didn't want one. The photo has made me think - well actually, that's quite nice. But petrol, Covid, Russia have scuppered lots of half baked plans, but not nearly as many as the poor folk in Ukraine. With all that going on I feel guilty about even thinking about this stuff.

 

[DJDixon]

One concern for servicing your own BMW is that the service manuals (which were available on CD) are no longer available, making servicing your own very difficult - unless you want to subscribe to their service database, and like all things BMW, it's not cheap!!

 

[Mellow]

One concern for servicing your own BMW is that the service manuals (which were available on CD) are no longer available, making servicing your own very difficult - unless you want to subscribe to their service database, and like all things BMW, it's not cheap!!

There's a guy that goes by boxflier on YouTube that is a big help, nothing looks all that bad.

 

[NTausch]

After much nagging from my wonderful wife, who readily reminded me I was not getting any younger, I gave myself a birthday present. A new RT.
Happy birthday to me!


I had been kicking the idea of a new ride around for some time. When Mellow (among others) got his new RT, it really started turning the wheels in my brain.
I picked it up yesterday and have put about 150 miles on it so far. It's a bit different than the ST, it'll take some getting use to. (I'm not too concerned,)

It will be hard to get rid of the ST ! Now if we can just make this site ST/BMW-Owners.com

There’s enough of ex ST riders with Beemers that still go to STOC events. Nice ride!!

 

[The Forester]

Me & she who shall be obeyed had both an 1996 ST1100 & a 1994 BMW K1100LT at the same time but after making the decision to emigrate to Tunisia in 2021 so after after much soul searching it was decided that the ST would have to go. The main reason was that we used the ST as a "play/fun" bike, in other words reliving our youth and blasting around like yobbo's. Where as the K was more suited for the upcoming 2000 mile trip through France & Italy and onto Tunisia. Also the "boss" liked the K more for the longer trips because of the large top case and back rest, given she not overly tall it is almost a headrest. This coupled with the comfort touring seat, which is the next best thing to an armchair made the choice slightly easier. On numerous occasions I've thought about replacing the K11 but given she has not let us down at any point I can't justify parting with her, plus the "boss" would kill me.